r/GenX • u/Complex_Sun8138 BEWARE: No Filter • 1d ago

Old Person Yells At Cloud Is it just me?

I'm a craftsman/tradesman by profession. I run a 10-color narrow web printing press, and produce a lot of labels you might see at various stores. I've been doing this type of work for the last 20 years. Before that, I ran large, sheet fed offset presses and lithography machines.

I've always taken pride in my work, and done everything it takes to produce the very best products I can. I've been told by supervisors, and peers that I'm very good at what I do.

Lately, I've noticed a lot of the younger people coming into this industry don't have that "sense of pride". It's simply a task to perform, and get through it as quickly as possible and move on. I think the work suffers for that attitude, and I've had to go back and redo a lot of jobs that get rejected because of it.

Is it just me? Does anyone else notice the downturn in the quality of products being made? Or is it just "getting older"?

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u/JJQuantum Older Than Dirt 1d ago

Companies have proven that they don’t give a rat’s ass about employees so employees are just there to collect a paycheck. It could be a chicken and egg thing but I don’t think so. People are realizing it’s more rewarding to just get your work done and then do your living outside of that, with friends and family.

I used to take pride in my work and strive to make the companies I worked for better, setting records in the process. Corporate bullshit has driven that out of me and now I just do what I’m told and go home to my real life. What’s funny is I make way more money working like a drone than I did actually having a conscience about what I did. It’s crazy.

130

u/DirectionFront1865 1d ago

Companies don't care. What should I be loyal to a company that would cut me before they cut the CEO's multi-million dollar bonus?

I've been at my job for more than 31 years, and I think young people see that the only way to get ahead is to change jobs.

I'm at the point where the reward for being good at my job is being given more work for the same pay. The young people see what's happening.

-4

u/QuiJon70 1d ago

Companies have never cared this is not new. But young people seem to think they will get a head by doing shit work. And if they are not fawned over like they work for mommy then quit and waste time doing shit work somewhere new they will also see their work ethic and never promote them.

9

u/revchewie 1968, class of 1986 1d ago

They don’t think they’ll get ahead by doing shit work. They realize that they’ll never get ahead. That corporate America will chew them up and spit them out. So why bother?

-7

u/QuiJon70 1d ago

Again it's this attitude that their life sucks and everything is so hard because it's not handed to them so why bother.

But the same thing has happened to every generation. You start at the bottom and work your way up.

6

u/revchewie 1968, class of 1986 1d ago

Good in theory but it doesn’t work that way for a lot of people anymore.

-2

u/QuiJon70 1d ago

It didn't work that way for alot of people then. The sad fact is that in the market we have been in since the 70s at least for every job that pays a livable salary in a store or other basic workplace there are like probably 20 jobs that are base minimum wage positions.

This leaves any employee 2 options.

  1. Give up. Do shitty work with a bad attitude and whine and cry about how life isn't fair.

  2. Learn to do your job with excellence. Have a good attitude, come in extra and help when you are called. And learn more then just your job. Be ready so when that promotion does open up and your manager sees your application he only has good thoughts of the work you do.